Galearis
(pronounced: gal-ee-AIR-iss)
Classification
Orchideae subtribe Orchidinae
Overview
Terrestrials without corms or tubers. Leaves two, basal. Inflorescences erect, scapose racemes, the floral bracts conspicuous. Flowers hooded, pink and white. Sepals and petals free, the dorsal sepal and petal appressed forming a hood over the column. Lip unlobed, with an elongate spur. Column short. with two anther sacs; pollinia 2, granular, each with a small viscidium.
Etymology
From the Latin galea, meaning helmet, in reference to the hood formed by the dorsal sepal and petals.
Distribution
A genus of up to 12 species in temperate North America and eastern Asia depending on the circumscription of the genus (see Aorchis).
Care and Culture Card
See basic growing conditions and care information below.
Grow Galearis in small pots or bulb pans in a rich terrestrial mixture high in humus. Provide medium light levels, intermediate temperatures, and regular watering throughout the year. Overwinter the plants in an alpine greenhouse, cold frame, or by punging the pots into a garden bed.
Literature
Soó, R. 1975. The currently valid names and recent systematic position of species previously relegated to the genus Orchis in East and Southeast Asia and in North America. Acta Bot. Acad. Sci. Hung. 20(3-4):349-353. Tohda, H. 1983. Seed morphology in Orchidaceae, I. Dactylorchis, Orchis, Ponerorchis, Chondradenia and Galeorchis. Sci. Rep. Tohuku Univ. 4, 38:253-268.
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